Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park — Attraction in Gainesville

In our search for "Old Florida," we designed a two day, one-night trip to Cross Creek. The home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (MKR) was the focal point. The house is part of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park, one of the Florida State Park system.

We literally stepped "through the rusty gate" to discover the 72-acre farm Rawlings moved to in 1928. While waiting for our docent-led tour to start, we walked the short Tenant House Trail. It is dotted with memorable quotes from the 1942 book "Cross Creek" which reflect her thoughts about living in a unique culture and environment so foreign from her Washington, D.C. upbringing. Our excellent guide, Mary Ann, met us at the barn dressed in 30's attire. The tour was the best $3 we’ve spent.

Rawlings' farmhouse displays original furnishings and the characteristic 'frame vernacular' or 'cracker' architecture. The roof is made of handmade cypress shingles. The old board and batten house, built in 1884 was constructed mostly of heart pine in the Florida Cracker style with its raised floor, high ceilings and many windows and doors for cross ventilation.

The heart of the MKR farm was citrus. She would have grown lemons, kumquats, and several types of oranges. No original trees have survived but some have been grown from original seeds. Rawlings wrote on the front porch on a handmade table where she wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "The Yearling." Marjorie was a gifted hostess, entertaining friends and famous visitors. She converted the closet in the living room into a liquor cabinet, storing firewood below and 'firewater' above. She covered bare light bulbs with inverted painted butter bowls. Ingenious! Also on display is a glass case showing her numerous novels, some of which have been translated into many languages.

Rawlings built the first indoor bathroom in Cross Creek. To celebrate, she invited her neighbors, filled the tub with ice and 'soda,' a tray of glasses on the sink and red roses in the commode to make it a memorable social event.

MKR loved to entertain and serve elegant dinners. She always sat at the table facing the window view of the outhouse so her guests wouldn't have to. Along with her personal cook, housekeeper and maid of 10 years, Idella Parker, Rawlings wrote her 1942 cookbook, "Cross Creek Cookery." Recipes from it were tested over her old wood-burning stove where she made Cracker and gourmet foods. Vegetables and fruit from the citrus grove and garden were canned and stored in the pantry.

Rawlings' stories describe the role of her employees, both white and black, who contributed to the success of her farm and her writing. In exchange for their work. tenants were given a place to live, food and a small salary. The Tenant House is a short walk from the farmhouse.

At the suggestion of the staff, we followed their printed directions to Antioch Cemetery to locate the graves of MKR and her second husband, Norton Baskin. It was worth the drive to the remote cemetery and to see more of MKR scrub country en route. Her simple grave, adorned with many pens and a couple of toy deer reads: "Through her writings, she endeared herself to the people of the world." Indeed, she has. Visiting her wonderful sanctuary is good for the soul. Go.

If you go: the house is open October-July with scheduled tours of the inside by park guide only: 10, 11, 1, 2, 3 pm. $3/adult; $2/child. The farmyard, grove and nature trails are open 9-5 daily. Large parking lot with restrooms outside entrance to the farm located off CR 325. The park is open daily from 9-5 with a picnic area, playground and ...

We visited on Saturday, April 10th and took the 3pm tour. Our guide, which we both feel awful for not getting her name, was wonderful! She's the dear lady who makes homemade preserves on the antiquated stove on site. She was simply amazing and made our visit such a rewarding and enjoyable one! The powers that be should allow her to sell her wares because we are quite certain she's not getting rich giving tours here! But she should be! She's a wealth of interesting information about the history here and we think she should be highly valued and respected for all her hard work! And the fact that she isn't permitted to make a little money on the side after working so hard in that historic kitchen, demonstrates that she isn't valued nearly highly enough! Give her a break man. 👍👍👍 Anyway, we loved our visit and tour and hope to get back again real soon. And when we do, you can be sure we'll wait around all afternoon if necessary just to spend some more time listening to her stories! Well done and good on her! We would love to know her name so that we may remember her on special occasions and holidays! She was simply...

If you are looking for old Florida this is it. We took our airboat out on Cross Creek and Orange Lake. If you are air boating you can back to some beautiful secluded trails and spots. There's some great fishing and boat ramp is easy access out to the lake. Good size parking area for boat trailers. Only downfall to the parking is that people visiting the homesite are parking in the boat area taking up parking for trucks and trailers. They do have their own parking area designated but will still park in the trailer area. When I visited the Bathrooms were not very clean. They do have pavilions and a playground. Luckily the boat ramp and park area are free. If you are visiting the homesite, it is a cute Cracker style home with a small orange grove. It's free to walk the grounds. Good piece of history to view if you are a bit of a...